Amid warnings of a third wave of COVID-19 speculated to increase its impact on children, sources have told CNN-News18 Zydus Cadila is likely to submit an application for emergency use authorization of its COVID-19 vaccine candidate ZyCoV-D to the Drug Controller General of India in two weeks.
”If Zydus Cadila supplies five crore vaccines then it would be used for children, as well,” a top Heath Ministry official said. He also added “Covaxin trials on children will be completed in the next eight weeks.’’
Covaxin trials for its pediatric dose are being conducted on children of 2-17 age groups.
Zydus, however, at present is conducting clinical trials on 12 to 18-year-old children, and plans to begin testing its COVID-19 vaccine, ZyCoV-D, on children aged 5 to 12.
Ahmedabad-based pharmaceutical company Zydus Cadila’s vaccine would be India’s second indigenous vaccine and India’s 1st DNA vaccine. The vaccine is being developed with support from the Centre’s National Biopharma Mission as part of Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council, department of biotechnology.
DNA-Plasmid based ZyCoV-D will be a three-dose vaccine and can be stored at 2-4 degrees celsius. The vaccine unlike the others being used currently in India will be a three-dose vaccine and would be stored at 2-4 degrees celsius. The three doses promise a longer immune response and have shown better results in Phase 1 and 2 trials.
The company plans to manufacture 240 million doses of ZyCoV-D a year.
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